Southern Educator
May  2014
Volume 3 Issue 4 

 


Upcoming Events
  • May 19  Classes Begin, Long Term A 
  • May 22  Lunch and Learn with a Movie 
  • May 22  ITEC Google Hangout 
  • May 26  Memorial Day -- No Classes, Administrative Offices Closed
  • May 27  Classes begin for COE Graduate Tues./Thurs. Session
  • May 28  Classes begin for COE Monday/Wed.Session 
  • June 3 Teaching about Religion, Islam and the World Workshop  
  • June 19-20  COE Summer Graduate Research Workshop 
More announcements
 

Upcoming Conferences   

    

 

 

Faculty News

Brenda Marina, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Leadership, Technology and Human Development, was awarded the 2014 State/International Division award of the ACPA - College Student Educators International award for outstanding leadership.
Heather Scott, Ed.D., clinical instructor in the Department of Teaching and Learning, has been named to the 2014-15 Georgia Science Teachers Association Board of Directors. Scott is the District 8 Director.
Assistant Professor Lina Soares, Ph.D., and Associate Professor Christine Draper, Ph.D., both in the Department of Teaching and Learning, recently published the spring issue of
 
 
 

 

Southern Educator

is published on the second Tuesday of the month by Georgia Southern University's College of Education.


 


Salute the past, Capture the present, and Ignite the future. . .

 

 

 

 

 

with a commemorative brick in Centennial Plaza on the campus of Georgia Southern University. The engraved bricks make wonderful gifts for alumni, favorite professors, an individual who has made a difference in your life, and loved ones including parents and children. The possibilities are endless!  

Click here for more information.  
 

Directors Named to COE Centers

Dr. Alejandro Gallard is the new director of the Georgia Center for Educational Renewal.
  The College of Education recently named Alejandro Gallard, Ph.D., professor and Goizueta Distinguished Chair of Education, as the director of the Georgia Center for Educational Renewal (GCER) whose mission is to support research and encourage collaborative work directed at schools serving rural areas, especially those with large non-English speaking populations.
  Also named as director of the Center for Inter-
Dr. Brenda Marina is the new director of the Center for International Schooling.  
national Schooling is Brenda Marina, Ph.D., associate professor in the Department of Leadership, Technology and Human Development. Marina also is program co-director for the Higher Education Administration Programs in Educational Leadership. 
  Gallard joined Georgia Southern University in fall 2013 as the Goizueta Distinguished Chair of Education. Since then, he has taken the lead in developing collaborative initiatives within the University and worked to develop newly funded projects that support improvement in education settings particularly for the Hispanic/Latino community in rural Georgia.  
  "Much of the current school renewal and reform research and efforts have been conducted at larger universities that are embedded within large urban centers," Gallard explained. "I think we need to renew our efforts in understanding education in rural areas so that Georgians who live in these areas can develop the full potential to contribute to the economic welfare of Georgia," he said.
  Marina said that as director of the Center for International Schooling, she'll work towards developing collaborations across Georgia Southern University and other entities (local, national and international) to facilitate joint projects in global education, organize forums on global educational issues, support and engage in research on global and international issues. In addition, she said her goal is to enhance the center website which may serve as a clearinghouse of information pertaining to global education research, outreach and policy.
Click here for more on Dr. Gallard's appointment.
Click here for more on Dr. Marina's appointment.

 

At Risk High Schoolers Get a Unique Look at Georgia Southern
 

  Riding a zip-line through a remote forested area of Georgia Southern University's campus is not a traditional path to a college education, but for a group of 14 year-old boys it may have been just what they needed.

 "Just providing the experience sometimes is enough to open their eyes

High schoolers went through Southern's Challenge Course before touring the campus. 

to life's possibilities," said Assistant Professor Eric Landers, Ph.D., co-director of the College of Education's National Youth-At-Risk Center (NYAR), which sponsored the group. The students, 9th-grade boys from Richmond Hill High School in Richmond Hill, GA, were on campus earlier this month completing the Challenge Course offered by Campus Recreation & Intramurals, touring the campus and enjoying a meal at a dining hall. The students had been identified by school counselors as at-risk, said Assistant Principal Cleave Bivins Miller.

  The NYAR Center, which opened last year, develops, coordinates, and extends further the ongoing efforts of the College of Education to foster the intellectual, social, emotional and physical well-being of youth placed at risk by providing professional development, research support, and resource assistance for educators serving these youth within the geographical service region of Georgia Southern and beyond. Click here for the full story.
 

It's Graduation Time
 
  Georgia Southern University held its 86th Spring Commencement May
COE undergraduates and their families packed the lecture hall earlier this month for COE's annual pinning ceremony recognizing graduating seniors. COE Dean Thomas Koballa spoke to the group. 
9 and 10, conferring more than 3,000 graduate and undergraduate degrees to cheering students and their families. Of the 2,500 undergraduates receiving degrees, 138 were College of Education majors. Governor Nathan Deal delivered Saturday's commencement address at Paulson Stadium.
  Friday afternoon, 612 students received graduate degrees after listening to speaker Jemelleh Coes, Georgia Teacher of the Year for 2014. Of the 612 graduate degrees conferred, 323, or more than 50 percent, received degrees from the College of Education.

*Totals include summer graduates. An additional 24 Ed.D. students are scheduled to complete their degrees this summer but are not included in this total.  
 

COE Faculty Assumes AERA Division B Vice Presidency

  Ming Fang He, Ph.D. professor in the Department of Curriculum, Foundations and Reading, assumed her responsibility as the American Educational Research Association's (AERA) Division B Vice President (2014-2017) after this year's recent meeting.
  Division B, Curriculum Studies, has more than 2,000 members and is one of the largest divisions within AERA. Division B advances a wide range of inquiries reflecting diverse methodological and philosophical perspectives on theory and practice, policy and development, and enactment and evaluation.
  In the photo below, 12 Ed.D. Curriculum Studies students are shown with discussants and professors after their presentation, Pushing Methodological Boundaries and Performing Dissertation Writing, at AERA's annual meeting in Philadelphia in April.

(Left to Right) Dr. William H. Schubert, University of Illinois at Chicago, Dr. Denise M. Taliaferro Baszile, Miami University, Michael Czech, Georgia Southern University,  Dr. Janet L. Miller, Teachers College, Columbia University, Anna Waddell, Georgia Southern University, Kristen Denney, Georgia Southern University, Stacey Brown, Georgia Southern University, John Cook, Georgia Southern University, Julie Kimble, Georgia Southern University, Allison Beasley, Georgia Southern University, Elizabeth McCall, Georgia Southern University, Samantha Awala, Georgia Southern University, Yiming Jin, Georgia Southern University, Dana McCullough, Georgia Southern University, Angela Pieniaszek, Georgia Southern University, Dr. Ming Fang He, Georgia Southern University and Dr. Sabrina Ross, Georgia Southern University.

 

 

 

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 ALUMNI NEWS  

1950-59  

Mary Kight Chambers ('52 B.S.Ed. Elementary Education) is retired and lives in Canton, GA.

 

1960-69

Dan Maddox Dixon ('66 B.S.Ed.) is manager of Dixon Investment Holdings, LLC. He is a member of the John Milledge Chapter, SAR, member of the Wilkinson County Historical Society, member of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and supervisor of the Central Georgia Soil and Water District. Dan lives in Gordon, GA.
Judy Louise (Bedgood) McCullough ('68 B.S.Ed.) is retired and living in Newnan, GA, where she is a member of the Community Response Team for Coweta County.

 

1970-79  

John C. Brunger (B.S.Ed. '74) retired from the Hurst-Euless-Bedford School District in Bedford, TX. His daughter, Amanda, is a 2004 graduate of the College of Education.

Jerry L. Cox ('76 B.S.Ed. Social Science/American History) lives in Fort Stewart, GA, and is retired from the U.S. Army Contracting Agency.

 

1980-89  

Michael Lupo ('86 Ed.S., '82 M.Ed.) is retired and lives in Cookville, GA

1990-99

Joan A. (MacLean) Warshauer (M.Ed. Music Education) teaches intensive reading for 7th and 8th grade as well as chorus and music theory. She works at H.D. Perry Middle School in Miramar, FL.

 

2000-09  

Helen Kristine (Ritz) Coll ('01 M.Ed. Higher Ed/Student Services) works for the University of Delaware in Newark, and lives in Wilmington.

Quail T. Arnold ('03 B.S.Ed. English) works for Atlanta Public Schools and lives in Decatur.

Lisa M. Reynolds ('04 B.S.Ed.) is currently teaching kindergarten in Macon, GA.

Eric Guenther ('05 B.S.Ed. History) was named the Dent Middle Schools Teacher of the Year for 2014-2015, in Columbia, SC.

 

2010-  

Gloria Suvon (Junkins) Talley ('11 Ed.D. Educational Administration) works for Lexington School District One in Lexington, SC, and recently presented at the National School Boards Association Conference: Schools of the Future - Preparing a New Generation of Leaders and Global Citizens, in San Diego, CA. She was named a Magna Awards 2014 First Place Winner by the American School Board Journal for Lexington's One's World Languages and Partial Immersion Program.

Brenda D. Edenfield ('13 Ed.D. Educational Administration ) was recently named Superintendent of Wayne County Schools.

Jeffrey Allan Miller ('13 M.Ed. Instructional Technology), works for Jackson County Schools and lives in Statham, GA.

Alicia R. Thompson ('13 M.A.T. Accomplished Teaching Curriculum and Instruction, '11 B.S.Ed. Special Education) teaches at Burke County High School where she serves 9th and 12th grade students with disabilities. Alicia says: "Everyday I am thankful for the professors who pushed me to become the best at my job and taught the importance of having passion for teaching."